Spanking children predisposes them to develop psychological problems, a research has concluded.
Experts from the University of Texas at Austin and University of Michigan conducted a meta-analysis of studies spanning 50 years of research involving 160,000 children and found that children who experienced more spanking have a higher risk of developing aggression, anti-social behavior, mental health problems and cognitive challenges.
For years, health practitioners along with child activists have decried the use of spanking as a form of child discipline. In 2006, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) released (PDF) a directive classifying physical punishment, such as spanking, as a form of "legalized violence against children." The directive was supported by 192 countries, but not the U.S.
With the analysis supporting the side of those against spanking, a new debate about discipline will surely ensue.
Jared Pingleton, a clinical psychologist and director for Focus on the Family's Counseling department said that spanking, in proper context, can be an appropriate form of child discipline. Pingleton explained that parents can resort to spanking to steer the children away from negative behaviors, but it should not be done to infants and very young children.
University of Texas associate professor of human development and family sciences Elizabeth Gershoff said their analysis zeroed in on what the majority of Americans interprets as spanking and not abusive behaviors.
"We found that spanking was associated with unintended detrimental outcomes and was not associated with more immediate or long-term compliance, which are parents' intended outcomes when they discipline their children," said Gershoff. In fact, the turnout of spanking is the opposite of what parents want to achieve.
The finding correlates with a past study that revealed stress, including physical abuse, experienced during childhood significantly affects brain development.
Gershoff and University of Michigan associate professor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor revealed that 13 out of 17 outcomes they analyzed showed psychologically damaging results. The findings point that spanking and physical abuse both result to similar negative outcomes.
Additionally, those who were spanked were more likely to use corporal punishment for their children. The attitude towards physical punishment can be passed on from one generation to another.
The researchers recommend parents to instead practice non-punitive and positive disciplinary actions to foster healthy well-being of children.
The study was published in Journal of Family Psychology on April 7.
Photo: Emran Kassim | Flickr
